17th Contest Selected Haiku Collection
prayer vigil
a ghost moth's wings
begin to close
mom's vital signs
we decipher the code
of lightning bugs
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Yuki Teikei Haiku Society Tokutomi Haiku Contest, 2025
palliative care
a branch of loquat flowers
our light in the dark
Honourable Mention
Tokutomi Haiku Contest 2025
Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, 50th Anniversary Celebration Retreat at Asilomar, November 2025
Honoured to contribute a haiku to recognize the dedication of Tokutomi Dojin, Patricia Machmiller, who has been with the Society from its beginnings:
sunflower
the way she spreads
her light around
Yuki Teikei Haiku Society Haiga Holiday Celebration, December 2025
Delighted to have the following haiga included in the slideshow:
Geppo: The Haiku Work-Study Journal of the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, Volume L:3, August 2025
May - July 2025
beach blankets
waves chase each other
back and forth
the horses
that got away . . .
whitecaps
Summer Challenge Kigo: Coolness, suzushisa
cooling winds
the hammock takes on
a life of its own
The Solitary Daisy, Issue 62, November 2025
Grateful to have the following work reposted from a haiga pubished in Tinywords 25.2, October 2025:
dawn chorus starlinging me out of night terrors
Whiptail, Issue 12, February 2025 (first publication)
The Solitary Daisy, Issue 57, July 2025
Grateful to have the following work reposted from Charlotte Digregorio's blog:
the peace
that accompanies
forgiveness
after this long drought
an ecstasy of rain
GUSTS, Number 25, Spring/Summer 2017
The Cicada's Cry: A Micro-Zine of Haiku Poetry, Winter 2025
first snowfall
the whinnies of horses
kicking up their heels
Shadow Pond Journal, Issue 6, December 2025
Honoured to know that this haiku was nominated by the editor, Katherine Winnick, for a Touchstone Award:
snow-eater wind
an ensō forms around
your headstone
Heliosparrow Poetry Journal, December 2025
Featured December 19, 2025:
Featured December 20, 2025:
Featured December 26, 2025:
Double Horizon: An International Haiku Anthology, The Fishing Cat Press, 2025
Grateful to have work selected and translated by Jean Antonini and Gilles Fabre (and team) for this anthology!
Translated into French
cattle roundup
a charred bean can
full of rain
1st Place, 2024 Sharpening the Green Pencil Haiku Contest
bioluminescence
I skip a pebble across
the universe
seashores, Volume 2, 2019
1st Place, 2019 OtherWordly Intergalactic Haiku Competition
glassy lake
flocks of snow geese
pull up the moon
1st Place, 2017 Autumn Moon Haiku Journal Contest
starflowers
light the woodland . . .
we find our way
Award Winner, The 2017 Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Competition
scrub jay
nothing left of the blue
in dad's jeans
2nd Place, 2024 Betty Drevniok Award
marsh marigolds
dark waters patched
with light
Highly Commended, 2023, New Zealand Poetry Society Int'l Competition
My Perspective:
When I first set foot along the haiku path, I had no idea how much it would engulf and expand my world! My daily haiku practice helps mitigate the effects of chronic illness by focussing my mind on joy rather than pain. Over the years, it has become a healing and a meditative force. These little poems have enriched my life beyond measure by introducing me to the work of the global haiku community. The poet an'ya, was the first editor to publish my work, and I am forever grateful to her for changing the course of my writing life.
Note:
I was honoured to learn that Gilles Fabre and Jean Antonini gave an interview, and read my perspective on haiku (among others) on French radio!
Tuesday, December 16, 2025
Wales Haiku Journal, Autumn 2025
hummingbird you lose the point of your story
battered dock
the turtle with a snake
in its mouth
Under the Basho, 2025
Personal Best
refugee train
small hands starfished
against the glass
1st Place, 2024 Triveni Awards
Author's note:
This poem arose out of my despair at witnessing the plight of the world's displaced children, who are facing traumas not of their own making. Their voices unheard, they use "starfished" hands to silently plead for mercy as the train pulls them away from everything they have ever known. In this instance, I felt that "verbing" was a dynamic and fresh approach not only to convey the shape of hands, but to reference the locomotion techniques of starfish. The children are dissimilar, and yet akin, to starfish. Though unable to regenerate limbs blown off in war, they are ruthlessly uprooted and battered by forces beyond their control.
Haiku
bluebell woods the meandering scent of this river
bouzouki
our wine bottle filled
with wisteria
pawned guitar
someone's initials carved
into the bridge
Postku
pitcher plant drowning in the chalice of doomscrolling
Haiga Gallery
The Haiku Foundation, Juxta 11 - Research and Scholarship in Haiku, December 2025
Grateful to have the following haiku included in the article "A Multitude of Perspectives" by Mary Stevens (a review of "One Thread": Zoka in Contemporary Haiku, by Janice Doppler):
dripping trees
I wait for the right path
to choose me
First Frost, Number 3, Spring 2022
Silver Birch Press, December 2025
Bugs & Insects Series:
dead orchard
the random blue sparks
of woolly aphids
3rd Place, 2018 Irish Haiku Society International Competition
Author's note:
This was written in response to a magical sighting of woolly blue aphids flitting about our campsite. Their iridescent winds and tiny, furry blue bodies make them look like woodland fairies. Though these little creatures are beautiful, they can also be deadly in numbers! this haiku is the title poem of my recent full-length collection, Random Blue Sparks (Snapshot Press, 2024).
Quail Eggs: A Tanka Journal, Issue 3, December 2025
seasons flash by
quicker than lightning
across this lake
the family cottage
falls to rack and ruin
Prune Juice, Issue 47, December 2025
Delighted to have the following work selected by the new editors, Pippa Phillips and Orrin Préjean:
hostas caught on the dilemma of a snail's horns
opening bracket sun dog closing bracket
Presence, Number 83, November 2025
narwhal migration
a child spots
her first unicorn
equinox . . .
when the sun forgets
to shine,
migrating goldfinches
still remember how
Eucalypt, Issue 39, December 2025
sunlight
butters the prairie hills
we gather
to give thanks before
our morning chores
The Pan Haiku Review, Issue 6, Autumn/Winter 2025
Honoured to know that "bluff line" was awarded a Mahō Mention (selected as one of the very best) by the editor, Alan Summers!
bluff line
boys jump into a lake
that isn't there
Mahō Mention
hen harriers
our dancing days
behind us
Our Best Haiga: Black & White Haiga/Haisha, December 2025
Curated by Lavana Kray
Honoured that this tanka art was selected as one of the best haiga/haisha submitted in December, 2025!
December 7, 2025
#FemkuMag, Issue 40, Autumn/Winter 2025
Honoured to be a featured poet in this issue and to be the cover artist!
Femku Features:
bikini wax
the scarlet-thighed dacnis
strikes a pose
Litha bonfire
my flower crown
begins to wilt
childless
our young beans lost
to halo blight
chronic illness the multitudes i once contained
woodland owl saw-whetting the appetite for scandal
if we could
detoxify this world . . .
nettle soup
Cover Haiga
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Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal, Issue 14, Spicy Ku, December 2025
Translated into Romanian
sumac bush
the berries just ripe
enough
Daily Haiga: An Edited Journal of Traditional and Contemporary Haiga, December 2025
Featured Artist: December 10, 2025
Note: this haiku was first published in Frogpond 48.1, 2025
Creatrix: Poetry and Haiku Journal, Number 71, December 2025
washboard road
dust devils on one side
rain on the other
rockfall
a bit of the mountain
in my satchel
Hexagon: Haiku, 2025
My thanks to the editor, Corine Timmer, for including my work in this anthology!
dappled light
a ribbon snake weaves
our shadows together
Autumn Moon Haiku Journal, 9:1, Autumn/Winter 2025-2026
graveside service
my sister's unmade bed
of snow
The Art of Tanka, Issue 5, Fall/Winter 2025
let us put
this old heartache out
to pasture
have we not tended
to its needs long enough?
Sunday, November 23, 2025
Tsuri-doro: A Small Journal of Haiku and Senryu, Issue #30, November/December 2025
whetstone
a raven sharpens
its voice
Triya Mag: Sharad Edition, November/December 2025
Translated into Hindi
Honoured to have the following cherita selected as the Triya Feature!
sorting through
the paint tubes
on my desk
I wonder
what colours my pain
will be today
Cherita Lighthouse Award, The Cherita, Book 94
campfire nights
we ride in on the back
of a song
3rd Place, 2025 New Zealand Poetry Society International Contest
The Wise Owl, October 2025
Daily Verse Feature - thresholds theme
deep time
the heel stone
topples over
double rainbow
our paddles become
soundless
The Haiku Foundation - Haiku for Healing (Google Classroom Update), November 2025
Honoured to have work selected for Geethanjali Rajan's free two-month course in poetry therapy.
..."The Reading list was enriched by the poems that I selected from cattails, where, as the haiku editor, I have been fortunate to read works from around the world. The poets whose poems feature here kindly gave permission for use in this class. These poems are examples of writing that embodies close observation, mindfulness and honest articulation of a moment..."
nurses move her
to a private room . . .
blackthorn winter
cattails, April 2025
Suspect Device Punkzine, Number 17, October 2025
Turning Japanese: On the Road
My thanks to the editor, Tim Gardiner, for nominating the following poem for a Touchstone Award:
map turtle
we follow until
we get there
Ribbons, Volume 21, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2025
Honoured to have the following tanka selected by Jim Chessing for his article, "How Tanka Mean—Some Thoughts on Content and Form: Part 2":
a raven
believed it could fly
through me
unaware that I am glass,
pretending to be sky
3rd Place, 2020 San Francisco International Tanka Competition
Our Best Haiga: Black & White Haiga/Haisha, November 2025
Curated by Lavana Kray
November 6, 2025
(Note: this haiga was first published in colour in Haiga in Focus 77, Dec/2024)
Our Best Haiga: Black & White Haiga/Haisha, October 2025
Curated by Lavana Kray
October 19, 2025
(Note: this tanka first appeared in Ribbons 21.1, Spring/Summer 2025)
New Zealand Poetry Society International Poetry Competition, 2025
There are Rabbits Here - NZPS Poetry Anthology 2025
My thanks to Scott Mason, the judge of this contest, and to the editors, Jackson McCarthy and Amelia Kirkness, for including this poem:
campfire nights
we ride in on the back
of a song
3rd Place
Ginkgo Gold, Haiku Society of America Members' Anthology 2025
refugee train
small hands starfished
against the glass
1st Place
2024 Triveni Haiku Awards
Ink Sweat and Tears - The Poetry and Prose Webzine - November 2025
Word and Image Feature: November 3, 2025
Haiku Canada Review, Volume 19, Number 2, October 2025
Honoured to have a lovely review of "Random Blue Sparks" in this issue. It can be accessed under the book's tab on this blog. My thanks to Louise Carson for her generous words and sensitive reading of my work.
hired hand
smoke rings encircle
the sun
Fresh Out: An Arts and Poetry Collective, November 2025
Curated by Eric A. Lohman
Featured Artist: November 11, 2025
(note: this haiku first appeared in Folk Ku 4, Nov/Dec 2024)
Fresh Out: An Arts and Poetry Collective, October 2025
Curated by Eric A. Lohman
Featured Artist: October 25, 2025
Fireflies' Light: A Magazine of Short Poems, Issue 32, October 2025
Note: this haiku was first published in Geppo, May 2022
Note: this haiku was first published in Geppo, November 2024
Note: this haiku was first published in Geppo, November 2024
Note: this haiku was first published in Geppo, February 2023
Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal, Issue 13, Tea Time, October 2025
Translated into Romanian
cowboy coffee
steam rises
from the herd
Daily Haiga: An Edited Journal of Traditional and Contemporary Haiga, November 2025
Featured Artist: November 6, 2025
Note: this tanka was first published in Blithe Spirit 35.2, 2025
Circle of Salt, November 2025
Diaphanous Dimension
A found gogyoshi culled from "Cullen in the Afterlife" by P.K. Page:
Cattails, October 2025
summer romance this fling of migrating sandpipers
twilit meadow the blue songs of larkspur
sun on sand
and the laughter
of children,
plastic buckets filled
with unmade castles
Blithe Spirit, Volume 35, Number 4, November 2025
Honoured to receive a lovely review of "Random Blue Sparks" by Iliyana Stoyanova in this issue. It can be accessed under the book's tab of this blog.
mother's last glimmer of light goldcrest
zombie fires
come back from the dead . . .
this wilderness
haunted by skeletons
and memories of trees
Thursday, October 09, 2025
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, Haiku Invitational, 2025
afternoon tea
house finches stir up
the cherry blossoms
house finches stir up
the cherry blossoms
Sakura Awards, Canada
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haku Invitational, 2025
Utriculi, Issue 2, Part 2, September 2025
Thrilled to have the following collages selected for this issue:
chaos
echoes
frayed
Triveni Haikai India, September 2025
My thanks to Anju Kishore and Mohua Maulik for including the following haiku in the Triveni Spotlight Feature on September 17, 2025. This haiku was included in my essay in Janice Doppler's book, "One Thread, Zoka in Contemporary Haiku," published in 2024:
alpine camp
meteors falling
into our mouths
Modern Haiku 55.1
Kick the Clouds: The Haiku Foundation Volunteer Anthology 2025
I'm honoured to be a content provider for The Haiku Foundation's HaikuLife Film Festival, Haiga Galleries, Haku of the Day, New to Haiku, and Haiku for Parkinson's features (among others). I have also donated several artworks to the Gift Shop as tokens of my thanks!
busker's hat
a child offers coins
of dried lunaria
1st Place
2022 Bloodroot Haiku Award
The Haiku Foundation: Haiku of the Day (formerly Per Diem), September 2025
Selected by Ranice Tara for the theme of "Mother Nature": September 23, 2025
stepping stones
a damselfly invites us
to change course
The Heron's Nest 22.4, December 2020
Talking About Strawberries All of the Time, Issue 15, October 2025
Happy to have my "liminal" #1-3 collage series in this issue!
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Sommergras: Magazine of the German Haiku Society, Issue 150, September 2025
Translated into German
Honoured to have the following collaborative haiga included in this issue!
photographs: Claudia Brefeld
haiku: Debbie Strange
Quail Eggs: A Tanka Journal, Issue 2, September 2025
in this place
of moss and shadow
we emerge
newly born, and yet
somehow ancient
Our Best Haiga: Black & White Haiga/Haisha, September 2025
Curated by Lavana Kray
September 28, 2025
(note: this haiga previously appeared in World Haiku No. 11, 2022)
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